It looks like Marvel, despite some slight need to lower expectations in terms of box office, was pretty pleased with how Peyton Reed and team were able to salvage the almost untenable mess of a situation that was Ant-Man. And frankly, having finally seen it a few weeks ago via a friend, I have to say it was a very pleasant experience overall: smaller stakes, cute humor, Corey Stoll playing to the back row, and one of the better Marvel third acts in a while. I certainly liked it a good deal better than their other big release this year.
The studio has already lined up Reed to return for the sequel, entitled Ant-Man and the Wasp. But now, they’ve also got writers in place and they’ll be pretty familiar names for anyone who followed the backstage drama that surrounded the first go-round with the character.
Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, the duo of screenwriters who reportedly did about six months of uncredited touch-up work on the previous film’s script, have signed on board to work with Paul Rudd in crafting the sequel. The trio will initially work with Adam McKay, another credited Ant-Man writer and the director of the upcoming possible Oscar player The Big Short, to crack the story before they begin to work on the script.
It’s a fresh start for Marvel Studios with this property and hopefully everyone will be on the same page from the get-go. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next, especially with Evangeline Lilly finally suiting up!
Ant-Man and the Wasp hits theaters on July 6, 2018.
